The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-11-26
THE BOTTOMLESS JUG.
Silver Cliff, Col.


saw it hanging in the kitchen of a
thrifty, healthy, sturdy farmer in Oxford
county, Maine-a bottomless jugl The
host saw that the curious thing caught
my eye and smiled.
"You are wondering what that jug is
hanging up there for, with it's bottom
knocked out" he said. "My wife per-
haps, can tell you the story better than I
can; but she is bashful and amt, SO I'll
| tell it.
"My father, as you are probably aware,
owned this farm before me. He lived to
good old age, worked hard all his life,
never squandered money, was cautious
trader and good calculator; and, as
men were accounted in his day and gen.
GRAFTON, he was temperate man. Twas
the youngest boy, and when the old gen
tleman was ready to go-and he knew it
the others agreed that since had stay
ed at home and taken care of the old
folks, the farm should be mine. And to
me it was willed. had been married
three years.
"Well, father died-mother had gone
three years beforehand left the farm to
me with a mortgage on it for $4,000, I
said to Mollie, my wife:
sMollie, look here. Here fathers had
this farm in it's first strength of soil, with
all it's magnificent timber and his six
boys, as they grew up, equal to SO many
men, to help, and he worked hard
worked early and late-and yet, look at
i'll A mortgage of two thousand dollarsl
What can do?'
"And I went to that jug-it had bot
tom in it then-and took a good, stiff
drink of old Medford rum from it.
ST noticed the curious look on the face
of my wife just then, and asked her what
she thought of it, for supposed she was
thinking of what I'd been talking about.
And SO she was, for she said:
"Charles, I've thought of this great
deal, and I've thought of way in which
believe you can clear this mortgage off
before five years are ended
"Ssys I, 'Mollie. tell me how you'll do
it.
"She thought for awhile. and then
said, with a funny twinkle in her blue
eyes-says she:
"'You must promise me this, promise
me most solemnly and sacredly; promise
me that you will never bring home for
the purpose of drinking as a beverage,
at any time, any more spirits than you
can bring in that jug-the jug your faith
or has used ever since I knew him, and
which you have used since he has done
with it.
swell, knew father used once in
while, especially in haying time and in
winter when we were working in the
woods, to get an old gallon jug filed; so
I thought that she meant that 1 should
never buy more than two quarts at a
time. 1 thought it over, and after awhile
told her 1 would agree to it.
"'Now mind said she, you are never
never to bring home any more spirits
spirits than you can bring in that identi-
cal Jug And gave her my promise.
"And before went to bed that night
I took the last pull at the jug. AS was
turning it out for a sort of a night-cap,
Molly looked up and says she:
"'Charley, have you got drop leftT
"There was just about a drop left.
We'd have to get it on the morrow. Then
she said, il had no objections, she would
drink the last drop with me. I shall
never forget how she said it, that last
dropP However, / tipped the old jug
bottom up and got about a great spoon